Alcohol is very high in calories and it can also affect the way the body
metabolises, which means that your body can react by storing the ingested
calories as fat rather than using it as fuel and more than 2 drinks a
day, and certainly binge drinking, is likely to increase your weight,
whilst lesser amounts of Alcohol spread evenly over time will not.

However, late night munchies, which are often associated with bouts of
drinking can make you feel hungrier than normal and could mean that you
end up eating more than usual, and in a lot of cases Junk
Food; studies have shown that in the short term, Alcohol stimulates
your food intake and increases feelings of hunger and having your judgment
impaired with Alcohol and stimulating your appetite is a known recipe
for failure if you are trying to follow a weight loss plan.

According to studies, the average adult in the UK is drinking an extra
day’s worth of calories every week through Alcohol and apparently, the
average adult is drinking enough lager, wine, cider and spirits to add
almost 3,000 calories to their weekly calorific intake; this is the equivalent
to 500 calories above the average male recommended daily limit of 2,500
calories and 50% more than the advised maximum of 2,000 calories a day
for a woman.

Annually UK adults are drinking around 155,000 calories through Alcohol,
which is adding to the country’s growing Obesity problems; with 3,500
extra calories creating one pound of fat, adults are drinking enough Alcohol
each year to add 44lbs of fat to their bodyweight, or just over three
stone.

Men are downing the most calories through Alcohol, just short of 200,000
calories annually; on a weekly basis men are consuming 3,836 calories
through drink which equates to one and a half days of extra calories a
week; normal strength lager, at 3% proof, and Continental lager, at around
5% proof, are men’s favourite Alcoholic drinks, closely followed by wine
and spirits.

But studies found that women are not far behind men in the Alcohol adding
calorie stakes; the average female is drinking more than 2,100 calories
through drink each week, which adds up to 110,000 each year; small and
large measures of red and white wine are the main source of Alcohol calories
for women followed by spirits, lager and alcopops.

These numbers paint a stark picture of how Britain is heading towards
Alcoholic induced Obesity, with clear links to the incidence of Diabetes,
Hypertension, Heart
Attack and other Cardiovascular conditions, Obesity is of growing
concern to public health; there is also a degree of evidence to suggest
Obesity has actually been reversing the improvements in mortality, made
as a result of improvements to medicine; our society now seems to be making
its own lifestyle choices to shorten its life expectancy.

Overall Alcoholic intake could be adding an extra 15% to women’s recommended
annual calorie intake and increasing men’s by 22%; in terms of fat, women
could potentially be adding 31Ibs a year through drink whilst men are
risking an extra 56Ibs; the Alcohol calorie consumption is at its highest
between Friday and Sunday with 68% of women and 64% of men upping their
intake as soon as work is over on a Friday; both men and women drink 25%
more between Friday and Sunday than they do between Monday and Thursday
each week.

How many Calories are there in Typical Alcoholic Drinks?

These figures really put into perspective just what a key part drink plays
in our calorie intake and our health; most people are clearly unaware
of just how calorific a pint of lager or a glass of wine is; the strength
of lager and varying measures in different bars and restaurants also has
an impact, but when we are out having a good time we don’t always notice
the difference between weak lager and some Belgian brands or that a glass
of wine was actually more than double a small measure.

Yet 44% of women and a 33% of men insist they are very conscious about
how many calories they consume through food; 10% of women admit to counting
the calories on a daily basis with their food intake; more than 60% of
women and 74% of men admit that they either don’t know how many calories
are in Alcohol or are not sure; the indirect financial impact of an ‘Obesity
Growing’ nation can affect anything from your private medical insurance
to life insurance and critical illness insurance, which can all be far
more expensive if you have a BMI over the average for your height and
age; in the worst case scenario you might actually be declined cover;
someone with a body mass index over 30 is technically Obese and Life Insurance
companies would typically charge an extra 75% for someone with a BMI between
32.6 and 35.

Drinkers beware as new research in the field of Alcoholism has revealed
that binge drinking can definitely lead to Obesity; this is in stark contrast
to earlier studies where it was found that Alcohol and Obesity have little
connection; however in another study conducted by the Seattle Children’s
Research Institute, it was revealed that women who have drinking problems
by the age of 24 are likely to be 4 times more Obese when they reach the
age of 27; another study funded by a Denmark researcher company shows
that men who drink more tend to have a larger appetite.

The change in scenario can also be blamed on the binge culture that has
come into existence; a comparison of the current situation to the one
20 years back reveals that the number of fast food chains has grown by
more than 10 times in the US alone; this culture has also caught up in
other continents such as Asia, Europe and South America where increased
incomes and better living are seeing more and more people switching over
to drinking and binge eating.

Any Alcoholic would tell you that Alcohol is most enjoyable when you have
it with lots of food; Vodka, rum or any Alcoholic beverage has to go with
lots of food; if you are a binge drinker, over a period of time, this
phenomenon will slowly and surely enhance your appetite; Alcohol has also
been known to slow down metabolism and when your body’s metabolism rate
reduces you are bound to pile on the calories.

To make matters worse, it has been proved that over time,
Alcohol also leads to depression and many people counter depression by
overeating which gradually makes you fat; once you have fallen victim
to the drinking habit, it’ is very hard to break the habit; lethargy creeps
in and very quickly you forget the fitness mantra that is essential to
lead a healthy life.

Without enough exercise, a person doesn’t have a way to burn those calories
and this proves to be the source of excess weight; on top of getting Obese,
Alcohol also causes Liver Damage and can cause Neurological Disorders
not to mention the drainage of you money; so it is best advised that you
stay away from such habits as much as possible and try finding other ways
of entertaining yourself.

Sometimes Alcohol Leads To Weight Loss:

Even though Alcohol contains calories, is does not mean that drinking
Alcohol will always lead to weight gain; according to extensive medical
research, and several studies, it is reported that women may actually
experience a small reduction in weight; the reason why Alcohol doesn't
necessarily increase weight, in all cases, is unclear, but research suggests
that the energy gained from Alcohol may not be efficiently used; Alcohol
also appears to increase the metabolic rate significantly in those that
lose weight, thus causing more calories to be burned rather than stored
in the body as fat; other research has found that the consumption of sugar
decreases as the consumption of Alcohol increases; the medical evidence
of this is based on a large number of studies of thousands of people around
the world; some of these studies are very large; one involved nearly 80,000
and another included 140,000 subjects.